Hello all, i have just recently found this website and i thought i would post my DIY background that i just finished last month. It's nice to find a site that is local in Atlanta. Here are the specs on my tank. Its a 75g african cichlid aquarium. I used styrofoam for the background and painted it with gray drylok. I used a black acrylic paint to shade in different grays. I put the heater and the pump in the overflow box in the left corner behind the background. I also built in the filter into the background. The backgound is made up of 6 different sections. I am already wanting to upgrade to atleast a 125g to fix the design flaws that i have found. Thanks for looking and let me know what you guys think.

1918

1919
I had to add something UGA in there.

1922

1920
1st coat of Drylok

1921

Some how i lost some pics of the process.

peacefulcounselor

05-06-2013, 11:13 AM

Nice job. Wish my cichlids liked traditional "rock" colors but they seem to prefer really bright colors. So unfortunately, my 75g has a multicolored saltwater background on it. It looks stupid, but hey, it's about what the fish like, not what I like, right?

Murph65

05-06-2013, 11:30 AM

1923

Here is the background test fit.

1924

1925
The first Tenant.

1926
Side shot.

1927

1928
For every cave i made windows so i could see in. There are about 11 caves total.

1929

1930
I only have 1 LED light in right now. I need 1 more.

1931

spidangular

05-06-2013, 12:43 PM

I have to respectfully disagree. If you're interested in what the fish like, take them back to their native waters and release them. (or their ancestral native waters) Owning a pet is for the enjoyment of pet owners. Animals prefer to be free and lack the intellect to appreciate the relative safety they enjoy under our stewardship.

Nice job. Wish my cichlids liked traditional "rock" colors but they seem to prefer really bright colors. So unfortunately, my 75g has a multicolored saltwater
background on it. It looks stupid, but hey, it's about what the fish like, not what I like, right?

kwseiders

05-06-2013, 06:53 PM

Wow, in that one area look how it almost looks like a "G"! You'd better be careful, people might think you like that Georgia team.

Murph65

05-06-2013, 07:01 PM

Gooooo dawgs!!!!!!

joecoulson

05-08-2013, 05:44 PM

Like it! love 3D BG's, after doing mine, don't think I will do another tank without one again. So nice to hide all the pipes

Demonfish

05-08-2013, 06:30 PM

How do the fish tell you what they like? But I'm with you. Make the fish happy and look at the fish, not the decor. All those "theme" tanks leave me cold. If you want a glass-box diorama, go ahead, it doesn't need live fish. There are animated fake ones now.

hsd

05-08-2013, 07:18 PM

Looks real good. Once it ages a bit in the tank and gets some algae on it will be even better.

Murph65

05-08-2013, 09:08 PM

Thanks for the complements guys. I cant wait to start my next one now that i have one under my belt.

joecoulson

05-09-2013, 08:25 AM

Looks real good. Once it ages a bit in the tank and gets some algae on it will be even better.

Agreed, to me, algae is a good thing. Looks real. Just not on the glass ;)